Towards the end of last year, a criminal called Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill) arrived in the Emmerdale village.
He was in town looking for Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), and it eventually was revealed that Kev was his secret prison husband.
Kev was introduced to us as part of Robron’s storyline but while he was in the Dales, he began to connect with a surprising resident.
In the café, Lewis Barton (Bradley Riches) got chatting to Kev over their interests. They started to have a deeper understanding of each other when they realised they both have tools in place to regulate their emotions.
For Kev, it was snapping an elastic band on his wrist whenever he felt his anger increasing. For Lewis, it was listening to music and blocking the world out when it became overwhelming.
The reason for their surprising connection was then revealed, as Kev told Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) that he once had a one-night stand with a woman called Emma Barton – Lewis’ mum.
As it stands, the only two people in the village who know about Kev’s connection to Lewis are Liam and Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler).
Nicola believed that Lewis didn’t need the drama of finding out his biological father is a criminal, and told Kev to keep his identity a secret.
Even though Kev is now living elsewhere, the fact Lewis doesn’t know about his real identity gives him the opportunity to return in the future.
For Bradley Riches, who plays the character, he knows a lot of emotional turmoil will unfold, should Lewis ever learn of who Kev really is.
‘I think since Lewis has come to the village a lot has been hidden from him – coming in and trying to find out the answers about his mum, and Ross and Moira keeping the truth from him’, he told me.
‘I think if he does find out he’s going to feel a bit betrayed once again. I think people try to hide things from him to benefit him, but once the truth comes out, and it always does, it’s going to hurt him again. He is an adult, at the end of the day, but people want to wrap him in bubble wrap to make sure he’s safe.
‘I think it’s cool because now it’s like, will Kev ever come back? Maybe the truth will appear one day, who knows?’.
Revealing his reaction to learning about the Kev and Lewis story, Bradley said: ‘It kind of came out of nowhere. Chris [Coghill] came in as part of the Robron saga. We had little scenes here and there and their characters just got each other, for some reason.
‘They felt seen by each other in an odd way. He’s blunt but Lewis never got offended by anything he said because Lewis got where he was coming from. They just understood each other.’
He added: ‘Then it developed into he’s actually my biological dad and Lewis never found out. It’s really interesting because it’s one of those things where we’re polar opposites but if it was a Venn diagram there’d be so much crossing over as well.
‘It was really interesting and dynamic to play with. Chris is bonkers, he’s kind, he’s all these amazing things. Working with him was an absolute joy as well.’
As he reflected on the journey Lewis has been on since moving to Emmerdale, Bradley had pride in his voice as he said: ‘I feel like he’s definitely found his feet in the village. He’s got friends and he’s still making new friends and new relationships. He’s got Nicola, he’s got Ross and soon to be Vinny as well.
‘They’re definitely his strong friendships. He’s got a job and you know when a character’s settled in the village because he’s just there sometimes, he gets a couple of words but he’s just there and living his life. He’s embedded himself in the society of that community.’
In upcoming episodes, Ross Barton (Michael Parr) and Kammy Hadiq (Shebz Miah) will decide to play matchmakers to try and get Lewis and Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) together.
Discussing the currently dynamic between his soap alter-ego and Vinny, Bradley pondered: ‘I think Lewis is oblivious to a lot of things. He’s definitely oblivious to there could be something more, but every so often there’s a little, ‘Ooh. I don’t know what this is.’ Vinny’s got a lot going on, working out his sexuality and his identity and becoming really close friends with Lewis.
‘They both have little romcom moments here and there, but it’s unknown territory at the moment – what is this? We don’t really know but we don’t want to break this friend grouping. It’s unspoken words, we don’t really know what’s happening.’
He smiled: ‘They’re very honest with each other, which I like. Lewis was there when he was talking about the court case and Vinny was there when Lewis was having his burnout, so they’re very honest with their feelings with each other but this is one thing they’re not honest about.
‘Maybe when they do become honest about it they might both feel the same way. It’s a weird tug-of-war at the moment, with their feelings towards each other.’
